Boating in the Gulf, Florida

During our stay on Marco Island, Walker's parents rented a boat for us to explore the mangroves and gulf.

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My first surprise were the pelicans swarming at the boat rental; they were enormous, dino-looking creatures with awkwardly bent wings. I don't think I've seen them so close before.

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My second was the bright green and blue water.

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I had thought of Floridian water as bit muddied compared to the Caribbean, and it is a bit, but the colors off the sky were bright.

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We started our cruise through the canals that zipper across Marco,

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and first navigated to Woodlands, a restaurant in the middle of not much, but mangroves.

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Along the way, we saw many sandbars, seabirds

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(see them standing in the trees?)

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and best of all, dolphins! So many came by majestically throughout the day, and only showed themselves briefly, but the moments they were there, I held my breath.

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We pulled up for lunch at Snook Inn, a local favorite.

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There was a wait, so we sat on the dock

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watching the pelicans

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and the hilariously tacky pirate boat tour, where kids could shoot a 'pirate' in a speedboat with water spouts off the boat. What was most funny was how long this lasted, nearly 45 minutes!

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The water was quite choppy heading into the Gulf, but we managed to scoot around the Capri islands and see a good bit of the island's perimeter. Such a fun way to get some sun and hang out with the local fauna.

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